Slime-dewatering gravity device.



I. P. MONELL. .SLIME DEWATERING GRAVITY DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 6, 1912. I 1,074; 92, Patented Sept. 30, 1913.

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Ira F.MOHe11 1. F. MONELL. I SLIME DEWATBRING GRAVITY DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED JUNEB, 1912.

1,074,192, Patented Sept. 30, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPM co, WASHINGTON, D c

rmrrnn srarns Parana c rries.

IRA F. MONELL, OF BOULDER, COLORADO.

SLIME-DEWATERING GRAVITY DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 30, 1913.

Application filed June 6, 1912. 'Serial No. 702,103.

To all whomz't may concern Be it known that I, IRA F. MoNELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boulder, in the county of Boulder and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Slime-Dewatering Gravity Devices; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it ap pertains to make and use the same' This inventionrelates to ore separators,

and more particularly to that class of separators known as pulp thickening and gravity sizing apparatus.

One object of the invention is .to provide a simply constructed andefiicientapparatus 'forthickening and sizing by gravity the slimes of ore which are received from a dc slime-r apparatus.

. Another object is-to provide an apparatus of this character in which the coarser particles of greater specific gravity are classified in compartments while the volume of the pulp solution is-reduced without loss of slimes or fine values, thus reducing the mill toll to the smallest possible amount containing all the fine values.

The 'slimes which are obtained from a deslimer contain from three to ten per cent. solids in which there are about one hundred, more or less, different gravity sizes. The

separating machines now in usewill sep arate about fifty or sixty of these if the water flow isnot too heavy. Slimers containing three per cent. or even'ten'per' cent.

solids require a machine having a large surface because of theexcess of water which is contained in the sllmes, and 1t lstheob- ]'ect of this invention to produce, an appathickening apparatus constructed in accordance with this invention; Fig. 2 rep resents a side elevation thereof with one of theside members removed and with parts broken out; Fig. 3 represents a transverse vertical section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a similar view on line 4l of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is an end elevation thereof.

Inthe embodiment illustrated, a tank or receptacle 1 is shown the lower half of which has straight, vertical side walls 2, which merge at their upper ends into flaring or diverging walls 3, which form the upper portion of the tank. The straight wall portion. of the receptacle is preferably-about eighteen inches deep and five inches wide and; extends the length of thetank, which is about ten feet, more or less. This apparatus is preferably constructed of two by five timbers, .one of which forms the bot 'tom at of the tank, being disposed horizontally the width of the tank bottom. A plurality of twoby five timbers (shown at 6) are arranged vertically and secured at one end to the bottom 4 at suitable distances nect the upper ends of the members 6 at opposite side edges thereof, being preferably set to said members 7 to dispose them in vertical alinement with the side edges of the bottom 4. Substantially triangular members 9 are secured to the upper ends of the end members 6 and side bars 10 connect the upper ends of said members 9 to form the hopper-like upper portion of the tank. Any desired number of uprights 6 may be employed, five being here shown, to form four thickening cells 7.

v The side walls of the apparatus are pref verably formed of sheetmetal, which is secured to the outer faces of the bottom 4, uprights 6 and side bars 8, and the upper edges-thereof are extended over the inner faces of the side bars 10 and secured to said bars by any suitable means. These walls are also secured'to the end member 9 by nails or other suitable elements.

vents the heavier particles contained therein rising to the surface and passing out over t the overflow 14 at the end of the tank opposite to the feed box 13.

The bottom 4: of the tank is provided with a plurality of apertures 15, one of which is formed in each cell 7, andis designed to form an outlet for said cell, a goose-neck trap 16 being connected with each one of these openings for conducting the thickened pulp from the cell bottoms. These goosenecks are provided with plug valve connections 17 for draining the tank when desired. They are each also provided with a plug valv e 18 for checking the pressure of the tank, and the opening therein is preferably round to prevent clogging.

Lengths of rubber hose 19 are preferably connected to theone-half inch pipes of the goose-necks for raising or lowering the discharge of the thickened pulp as may be desired, and they are provided at their free ends with two and one-half inch nipples 20 which are preferably reduced at their outlet ends to one-fourth inch nipples for reducing the discharge of the thickened pulp as well as offer a suflicient amount of resistance to the substances passing therethrough so as to prevent it from creating suction at the inlet ends of the goose-necks.

A plurality of hydraulic pipes 21 extend downwardly through each cell 7 asuflicient distance above the center of each goose neck to permit the water as it is discharged from said pipe 21 toward the centers of said goose necks to create a gushing action around the entrance of the goose-neck thereby causing all substances coming within the range of the gushing water to be deflected toward the entrance of the goose-neck and thus be more vigorously actuated before the heavier particles therein force their passage through the gushing water.

The thickening cell 7 being narrow, the pulp which settles in the wider upper portion of the tank will drop into the cells by gravity, thus forming agravity size at each cell as the current passes from thefeed box 13 at one end of the tank to the overflow 1 1 at the other end thereof.

The openings 15 in the cell bottom permit the thickened pulp to pass from the cells to the goose-necks and because of the height and narrow width of the cell the pulpwlll readily drop into the openings. ,If'desired, these cells can be made higher than the height specified to provide a somewhat acute angle from the top of the cell to the opening.

The feed box 13 may be of any suitable or desired construction, but is preferably provided with a metallic bottom having a multiplicitv of openings therein to permit the pulp to flow easily to avoid'boiling and thereby cause a smooth current to flow from one end of the tank to the other to permit,

the solids contained in the sliines to settle as tion of one end throughthe perforatedbot tom of the feed box 13, whereby boilingis prevented. The current of pulp so fed'in flows smoothly through the tank to the overflow 14, the heavier particles or solids sett ling or falling by gravity to the bottom of" the tank during the passage of the pulp through the tank.

is The pulp settling in the wide upper part of the tank will drop gravity into the cells, whereby a gravity S128 is formed at each cell as the current passes from the feed box to the overflow. The

passing current is thussplit, checked and di vided, becoming moresluggish in its move ment, the baffles causing the heavier particles contained in the pulp to fall by gravity to their respective cellsat the bottom of the tank and the lighter particles to pass to the next bafile, gradually settlinginto the cells as they pass along. each cell passes out through the opening 15 to the goose-neck 16 below, andthe pipes '21 which discharge into the goose-necks of the; various cells are designed to supply water under pressure for washing out the necks in case they should become cloggec'l. The pulp from the goose-necks passes through the-hose l9 and reduced nipples 20, whereby the thickened slime pulp may bedrawn off with The thickened pulp in very little water, which could not be done if drawn from the bottom of the goose-neck unless a very small opening were provided,

which would be likely to clog. I

I claim as my invention:

'A' pulp classifying and slime thickening apparatus comprlsing a tank having a long narrowsettlingchamber divided into a 'plurality. of compartments each of which has an opening in its bottom, the upper end of said narrow chamber merging into a flaring current chamber, the opening between said current chamber and settling chamber being reduced, a plurality of halide boards depending into said current chamber and arranged over the compartments offthe settling chamber,-

the board nearest the inlet end of the current In testimony whereof I have hereunto set chamber being longer than the others, hymy hand in presence of two subscribing Witclraulic pipes having their discharge ends nesses.

arranged directly above the entrance to the IRA F. MONELL. openings in the compartments of the settling Witnesses: chamber and means for restricting the ca- EDWIN J. FINoH,

pacity of said openings. WILLIAM T. MoGINNIs Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

